People – Images – One World. Images of People in German-speaking Missionary Journals from Imperial Germany

How did the early mass media depict the “others”? What concepts of one’s “own“ and of “foreign“ were communicated in the images and photographs published in missionary journals in the Imperial period? This project is dedicated to investigating visual constructions and representations of one’s “own” and of “foreign” in religious publications in Imperial Germany. In particular, the focus will be placed on the use and function of graphical depictions and their pictorial content. The aim of the project is to gain fundamental insights into the dynamics and aesthetics of visual representations of people from other ethnic backgrounds in Christian missionary journals. These will be discussed at an international and interdisciplinary workshop and presented in an exhibition and a publication. The project is being conducted in cooperation with Christoph Nebgen (of the Institut für Kirchengeschichte in Mainz)